Apparatus for the manufacture of bottle caps from strip metal



Nov. 11, 1958 D. EVANS 2,859,963

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOTTLE CAPS FROM STRIP METAL Filed May 2, 1955 L 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /M/ENTOR $40110 EMA/1s Ammvsvs NOV. 11, 1958 EVANS 2,859,963

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOTTLE CAPS FROM STRIP METAL Filed May 2, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .IMENTOR "Dav/p Ewws WMMflM Amrvevs United States Patent APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BOTTLE CAPS FROM STRIP METAL David Evans, London, England, assignor to David Evans (Dairy Engineers) Limited, London, England, a British company Application May 2, 1955, Serial No. 505,436

3 Claims. (Cl. 2712.4)

This invention relates to apparatus for the manufacture of caps from strip material, such as metal foil, serving as closures for the tops of bottles, for example milk bottles.

The main object of the invention is to provide an improved feed mechanism for feeding strip material from which the caps are made into the cap punching apparatus.

According to the present invention, in apparatus for the manufacture of bottle caps from strip material, there is provided stepwise feed mechanism for the strip material comprising in combination a downwardly extending guide plate down one face of which the strip is fed, a horizontal roller mounted at the top of the guide plate and over which the strip is led before its passage down the plate, a rotary feed wheel disposed at one side of the plate opposite an aperture therein and mounted upon a horizontal feed shaft, which feed wheel has at least one feed segment of greater radius than the remainder of the wheel arranged to come into driving contact with the strip at each revolution of the feed Wheel, a loose backing wheel or roller mounted at the'other side of the guide plate opposite the feed wheel to hold the strip against the feeding segment thereof, the backing wheel and feeding segment having surfaces such as to afford non-slip engagement with the'strip, and driving connections for continuously rotating the feed shaft.-

The backing roller preferably has a spring-loaded mounting so as to urge the strip material resiliently against the feed segment of the feed wheel or roller, and a stop may be provided for limiting movement of the backing wheel.toward:the feed wheel so that the roller is not urged into contact with the dwell segment of the feed wheel.

With the feed mechanism may be associated a strip supply device for absorbing snatch movements in the strip and thereby preventing its being torn and broken.

An apparatus in accordance with the present invention will now be described by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus,

Figure 2 is .an elevation seen in the direction of the arrow 2 of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is an elevation seen in the direction of the arrow 3 of Figure l. a

The apparatus is provided with a head 11 having a vertical guide-channel 18 down which metal foil strip 14 is fed to a punching mechanism for producing the caps from the strip. Projecting through a slot 16 in one wall 17 of the channel 18 is a rotary feed wheel 12 carried on a horizontal shaft 13 mounted, in brackets 23, transversely of the path of the strip 14 through the channel 18. The feed wheel 12 is rotated continuously by a sprocket 19 driven through chain and sprocket gear (not shown) from a driving shaft that serves also to operate the punching mechanism. A spring-loaded jockey pulley is preferably incorporated in the chain drive.

A segment 20 of the feed wheel periphery is serrated, while the remaining segment 21 of the periphery is plain 2,859,963 Patented Nov. 11, 1958 ICC and of smaller radius. A backing roller 22 is located at the opposite side of the channel 18 opposite the feed Wheel 12. This roller is of fibre and it projects through a slot 24 in the wall 25 of the channel. The backing roller 22 is carried by a lever arm 26, pivoted in a bracket 28, which arm is connected to a coil tension spring 27, whereby the backing roller resiliently urges the strip 14 against the serrated segment 20 of the feed wheel 12. A stop 29 limits inward movement of the backing roller 22 in such a way that the strip 14 is clear of the plain segment 21 of the feed wheel 12. On the lever arm 26 is a handle 30 for swinging the arm to a position Where the backing roller is clear of the strip.

The strip 14 is led to the feed mechanism over a roller 31 mounted at the top of the channel 18 uponthe brackets 23. The strip is led to the roller 31 from a stock reel 32, passing under a roller 33 carried by a vertically swinging arm 34 mounted on a standard 35 supporting the reel 32. The roller 33 and arm 34 are so arranged as to maintain a sag in the strip 14 between the reel 32 and the feed mechanism.

In operating the mechanism, the end of the strip 14 is first inserted into the channel 18 from the top. With the feed wheel 12 continuously rotated, the strip is automatically drawn down the channel by the feed wheel. The serrated portion 20 of the feed wheel 12 draws down the strip into position for a punching mechanism (not shown) to produce the cap. During the punching operation the strip is maintained stationary in the channel by reason of the serrated portion of the feed wheel moving out of contact with the strip. The plain portion 21 of the feed wheel 12 thus affords a dwell period for the punching operation. Any snatch in the strip will be accommodated by the swinging arm 34 rising. Such a feed the caps are to be punched is pre-printed repeatedly along its length with the bottler7s trade name and/or. device,.

and this presents the problem of synchronising the capproducing machine with the pre-printed foilso that a single one of the repeated printings appears centrally on each cap and the foil feed does not get out of phase. To

this end, the apparatus has an index arm or printer 37 with a horizontal edge 38 lying just above the entry to the vertical guide channel 18, and before starting the machine indexing marks printed on the foil are brought into alignment with the pointer edge 38. The pointer 37 is adjustably mounted by means of screws 39 passing through a slot 40 in a vertical leg 41 of the pointer.

Since the apparatus, at each revolution of the feed wheel 12, feeds the strip or f-oil forward by a distance equivalent to that spacing two embryo caps in the foil, once the indexing marks have been againt the pointer 37 the strip feed should keep in synchronism. Itwill be appreciated, however, that if the amount the"strip ,is fed, forward by the high s'egment of the feed wheel during each revolution does not correspond exactly to the. spacing. of consecutive printings on the feed strip, the error is cumulative and the strip will gradually creep more and more out of synchronism while the machine is running. To prevent this, the high segment 20 of the feed wheel 12 is made adjustable in length by providing a slot 42 in the feed wheel which can be opened or closed by means of a spring-loaded screw 43. This affords a fine adjustment of the amount the strip is fed at each step, and enables this distance to be made exactly equal to the spacing of the successive printings on the strip, thereby avoiding the tendency to creep.

Iclaim:

1. In bottle-cap manufacturing apparatus, a vertical feed for feeding the strip material from which the caps are punched to thecapa unching assembly, the vertical feed comprising in combination two downwardly extending guide plates secured to one another to form a vertical channel with spaced parallel walls between which the strip material is fed, each guide plate having an aperture, the two apertures being located opposite the strip in the channel and each other, .a horizontal guide roller mounted at the top of the channel and over which the strip is led before its passage down the channel, a mounting for a stock roll of the strip material secured at a position spaced laterally from said guide roller, a horizontal feed shaft mounted alongside one of the guide plates on a level with the aperture therein, a rotary feed wheel carried by said shaft opposite the aperture, said feed wheel having a dwell portion and .at least one feeding segment of greater radius than the dwell portion which segment projects through said aperture into driving contact with the strip during part of each revolution of the feed Wheel, a pivoted carrier mounted on the opposite side of the guide plates to the feed wheel and an idler wheel borne by the carrier opposite the feed wheel and.

the apertures in the guide plates, said carrier being springloaded to urge the idler wheel periphery through the aperture in the adjacent guide plate into contact with the strip so that the strip is gripped between the idler wheel and the feed wheel each time the feeding segment comes into contact with the strip, a stop for limiting movement of the idler wheel toward the feed wheel so that the idler does not urge the strip into contact with the dwell portion of the feed wheel, the idler wheel and feeding segment having peripheral surfaces such as to afford non-slip engagement with the strip, adjusting means on the feed wheel for adjusting the increments by which the strip is fed, and driving connections for continuously rotating the feed shaft.

2. In bottle-cap manufacturing apparatus, a vertical feed for feeding the strip material from which the caps are punched to the cap-punching assembly, the vertical feed comprising in combination two downwardly extending guide plates secured to one another to form a vertical channel with spaced parallel walls between which the strip material is fed, each guide plate having an aperture the two apertures being located opposite the strip in the channel and each other, brackets on one of the guide plates, a horizontal guide roller mounted upon said brackets at the top of the channel and over which the strip is led before its passage down the channel, a standard constituting a mounting for a stock roll of the strip material secured at a position spaced laterally from said guide roller, a vertically swinging arm pivoted on the standard, a jockey roller mounted on the free end of the swinging arm which roller rests on the strip intermediate the stock roll and the guide roller, a horizontal feed shaft mounted alongside one of the guide plates in said brackets and on a level with the aperture in the guide plate, a rotary feed wheel carried by the shaft opposite the aperture, said feed wheel having a dwell portion and at least one feeding segment of greater radius than the dwell portion which segment projects through said aperture into driving contact with the strip during part of each revolution of; the feed wheel, a bracket on the opposite side of the guide plates to the feed wheel, a lever-arm pivotally mounted on said bracket, an idler roller borne by the lever-arm opposite the feed wheel and the apertures in the guide plates, a coil spring loading the lever-arm to urge the idler wheel periphery through the aperture in the adjacent guide plate into contact with the strip so that the strip is gripped between the idler wheel and the feed wheel each time the feeding segment comes into contact with the strip, .a handle on the lever-arm for swinging the arm to a position where the idler does not bear on the strip, a stop for limiting movement of the idler toward the feed wheel so that the idler. does not urge the strip into contact with the dwell portion of the feed wheel, the idler and feeding segment having surfaces such as to afford non-slip engagement with the strip, adjusting means on the feed wheel' for adjusting the increments by which the strip is fed and driving connections for continuously rotating the feed shaft.

3. In bottle-cap manufacturing apparatus, a vertical feed for feeding the strip material from which the caps V are punched to the cap-punching assembly, the vertical feed comprising in combination a downwardly extending guide plate down which the strip material is fed which guide plate has an aperture therein opposite the strip guided thereby, a horizontal feed shaft mounted alongside the guide plate at the same level as the aperutre therein, driving connections for continuously rotating the feed shaft, a rotary feed wheel carried by said shaft opposite the aperture, said feed wheel having a dwell portion and at least one feeding segment of greater radius than the dwell portion which segment comes into driving contact with the strip during part of each revolution of the feed wheel, a movably mounted carrier mounted on the opposite side of the guide plate to the feed wheel and an idler wheel borne by the carrier opposite the feed Wheel and the aperture in the guide plate, said carrier being spring-loaded to urge the idler wheel periphery into contact with the strip so that the strip is gripped between the idler wheel and the feed wheel each time the feeding segment comes into contact with the strip, a stop for limiting movement of the idler wheel toward. the feed wheel so that the idler does not urge the strip into contact with the dwell portion of the feed wheel, the idler wheel and feeding segment having peripheral surfaces such as to afford non-slip engagement with the strip, a slot in the feed wheel which reaches the wheel periphery within the are occupied by the feeding segment and an adjusting screw provided on the wheel to permit the width at the slot to be adjusted, the arrangement being such that when the screw is turned in one direction the slot is opened and when the screw is turned in the other direction the slot is closed, thereby respectively to increase or decrease the effective length. of the feeding segment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 950,754 Oehring Mar. 1, 1910 1,472,964 Donnell Nov. 6, 1923 7 1,879,465 Phinney Sept. 27, 1932 1,889,453 Richardson Nov. 29, 1932 1,906,211 Junker Apr. 25, 1933 2,004,021 Tucker June 4, 1935 2,140,834 Gazette Dec. 20, 1938 2,172,637 Fader Sept. 12, 1939 2,686,670 Dixon Aug. 17, 1954 mam. i Min-1i in... 

